Republished with permission from Newslaundry | Read the original article, as written by Manisha Pande,here

A Financial Intelligence Unit document was used to plant stories in Zee Business and DNA against Modi Sarkar’s ‘tax terror’. The Zee reports omitted that the FIU documents named two companies linked to Chandra as defaulters that owe about Rs 1,900 crore as pending tax.

On September 8, Zee Business broke an unusual story. Unusual because it portrayed the governing Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bad light.

If you are a keen news consumer, then you’d know that Zee Media Corporation and its news properties rarely practice the kind of journalism that holds the current dispensation accountable.

This was a significant departure.

With hashtags like #UneaseofDoingBusiness, the Zee Business “exclusive” investigation was based on a classified document of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which comes under the Union Ministry of Finance. Zee BusinessDeputy Editor Mihir Bhatt stated that this document was proof that the Modi government was indulging in “tax terrorism”. He claimed that the document has names of big companies, some multinational corporations, which are being wrongly targeted and labelled as tax defaulters by the Modi government: “Kya tax vasooli ke naam pe sarkaar zaroorat se zyada sakhti nahin barat rahi hai [Isn’t the government coming down too hard in the name of tax recovery]?” he asked.

What Bhatt conveniently forgot to mention is that the FIU document also has names of two companies that have links to his top boss, Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra.

The omission appears more than deliberate when you consider how Zee Business got its hands on the confidential FIU document.

An email instruction

Two days before Zee Business broke its exclusive story, on September 6, an email from Chandra’s office went out to DNA Editor-in-Chief Dwaipayan Bose, which read, “Pls do needful asap”. (Newslaundry has accessed this email.)

The email contained an attachment, which was a letter from the FIU to banks, dated August 16. The letter stated that “a list of tax defaulters who are untraceable/have no assets for recovery has been identified”. It urged the banks to find out if these tax defaulters (companies and individuals) maintained accounts with them and to provide details of these accounts. The attachment also had the list of close to 100 tax defaulters, which includes companies like Nokia, Vodafone, Essar, Loop, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and so on. (Newslaundryhas accessed the FIU letter to banks.) According to the FIU document, the total tax amount owed by these companies amounts to a staggering Rs 2.85 lakh crore.

This list is the confidential FIU document on which Zee Business based its exposé that was aired through the day on September 8. The same documents also formed the basis of a story published in DNA on the very same day, headlined, “Corporates question tax defaulters list that MoF sent to banks”. The FIU letter was also passed on to Bhatt.

It is pertinent to note here that Chandra, along with being a media tycoon and businessman with interests across sectors like infrastructure, technology, health and so on, is also an Independent Rajya Sabha member from Haryana backed by the BJP. According to the code of conduct for Rajya Sabha members, “If Members are in possession of confidential information owing to them being Members of Parliament or Members of Parliamentary Committees, they should not disclose such information for advancing their personal interests.”

While it can not be ascertained if Chandra’s office procured the confidential FIU document by virtue of him being a Rajya Sabha MP, it is alarming that it was forwarded to the DNA editor and presented to further a one-sided picture of the finance ministry’s efforts towards tax recovery.

The tale of two companies

Both reports in Zee Business and DNA tear into the finance ministry for writing to banks with details of tax defaulters. The reports question the motives of FIU and put up a strong defence for the companies under its radar, stating that the FIU list goes against Modi’s ease-of-doing-business project.

At one point, Zee Business anchor Mihir Bhatt, while questioning the methodology of the list, calls it irresponsible. He then asks BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal if the FIU official who made the list would be brought to justice.

Bhatt while naming some companies like Essar, Gitanjali Gems, Bhushan Steel and Vodafone, questions how FIU could come to the conclusion that such big companies have no assets. This is a misreading of the notice that simply states that the companies listed as tax defaulters don’t have “assets for recovery” as opposed to having no assets at all. The list is, in essence, urging banks to look into assets of these companies to recover the huge tax amount pending against them since these companies had not listed any asset or account numbers for tax recovery.

More worryingly, in a direct conflict of interest, Zee Business and DNA’s reports make no mention of companies linked to Chandra that also feature in the FIU list.

These two companies that are listed as tax defaulters are Direct Media Distribution Ventures and Ganjam Trading Company. Together, they owe Rs 1,887 crore as pending tax. Direct Media is among the top 10 defaulters and owes Rs 1,674 crore. The top defaulter is Hassan Ali Khan (Rs 1.25 lakh crore), who was booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation on money laundering charges.

According to documents with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Essel Corporate Resources Private Limited owns 99 per cent equity shares in Direct Media Distribution Ventures. Its Additional Director Mukund Galgali is director of Diligent Media Corporation, which is an Essel Group company. Direct Media Distribution Ventures is also one of the promoter groups of Essel’s Dish TV. Similarly, Ganjam Trading Company is part of the promoter group of Essel Propack. Both Ganjam Trading and Direct Media Distribution Ventures operate out of NM Joshi Marg at Lower Parel in Mumbai.

In essence, Zee Business and DNA while attacking the FIU list, defended the companies and, by default, those companies linked to Essel Group, without so much as issuing a full disclosure.

Newslaundry reached out to Chandra, Bose and Zee Editor Sudhir Chaudhary with these questions.

1) A mail from Dr Chandra’s office went to DNA editor on September 6. This email had an attachment of classified FIU documents with a list of tax defaulters. Could you confirm?

2) Two days later, Zee Business and DNA carried stories on these documents but they did not mention the companies owned by Essel. Could you explain the reason behind this editorial call?

3) FIU documents are classified. By virtue of Dr Chandra being a Rajya Sabha MP, would you consider it is against the code of conduct to circulate such documents?

4) Do you think Zee Business and DNA doing stories on a document that has names of companies linked to Dr Chandra amounts to a conflict of interest?

Chandra replied saying: “This is all not true. I did not write any mail to any one. Nor am I aware of any list what is being referred in the mail.”

The mail may not have been written by Chandra but it was indeed sent out from his office. When this was pointed out to Chandra, requesting him to answer the queries, he replied saying, “I have no information knowledge about this, I have already said in my earlier reply, so why this mail again?”

Sabse bada rupaiyaa

The Indian mediascape does not have laws on cross-ownership, but this case reveals how media owners with multiple business and political interests can use news channels to further their interests rather than work in public interest.

It also shows that when it comes to business considerations, media owners are likely to set aside their political leanings.

Chandra is known to be close to Modi. He has openly supported the BJP in Haryana. When the GST Bill was passed, he wrote a letter to the PM congratulating him on the feat and made a commitment towards building Modi’s vision of ‘New India in 2022’.

In fact, in January last year, Chandra’s book The ‘Z’ Factor was launched by Modi at his residence in 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.

During news events like the Surgical Strikes or the JNU ‘azadi row’, Zee News has often acted as the BJP’s mouthpiece. So much so that Chandra thought it was important to make an appearance on Zee News and issue a clarification that the channel was “pro-India” and not pro-BJP. But when it came to the government probing companies linked to Essel, Chandra’s very own news outlets launched an all-out attack on Modi Sarkar for indulging in ‘tax terror’.

Clearly, it is for the BJP government to see if it will be useful in the long run to have a media industry with owners more invested in journalism than propaganda.

Partner Story

Even at 76, Pradip Burman, the zestful chairman of Mobius Foundation radiates a contagious enthusiasm when he is talking about sustainability. The environmental crusader, better known to many as the great-grandson of Dabur founder Dr S.K.Burman, has devoted substantial attention towards promoting the concept of sustainability in all aspects of life. He refuses to conform to the convenience and comfort in today’s world which ultimately adds on to the adverse effects of climate change.

Talking to The Logical Indian, Burman emphasised why sustainability as a concept is indispensable for us. “We ought to be aware of what lies ahead of us. Soon we will finish the oil, iron, tin, and coal, and our next generations will be left with nothing. Recycling, banning plastics, stop felling trees for paper… This should become a part of everyone’s lifestyle,” he urges.

Mr Burman watering a sapling at the tree plantation drive organised by his non-profit Mobius Foundation

Traditional wisdom and modern research

A mechanical engineer from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, Burman had always nurtured a keen interest in helping the society, as evident from his graduation project of designing a sonic aid for the visually challenged, which detected obstacles in the way using ultrasonic wave signals.

As an executive for the nature-centric company Dabur, Burman has always opted for natural alternatives to solve his everyday problems like taking Ayurvedic medicine to cure his Arthritis. He later launched the veterinary wing for Dabur – Ayurvet – which provides nature-friendly solutions for animal health care.

A patron of the ancient scientific wisdom of India, Burman always hailed the confluence of “traditional knowledge and modern research”, which he advocated as the Ayurvet motto.

Ayurvet is one of the best ventures by Mr Burman

As part of the CSR initiative of Dabur, Pradip Burman founded SUNDESH (Sustainable Development Society) which has been tirelessly working for last 25 years in remote villages for uplifting the rural communities in an environmentally sustainable way.

An advocate of sustainability

Burman believes that sustainability is the indispensable mantra for the world at present. Due to uncontrolled utilisation of the planet’s resources by human beings, the world today stands at a juncture of destabilisation. Today the human race has reached the pinnacle of progress but the advancement is happening in a very unsustainable manner.

Through energy-efficient use of everyday essentials like transport, communication, altered habits of diet, clothing and daily living, some crusaders of sustainability try to reduce their carbon footprint. Pradip Burman’s Mobius Foundation is one of the forerunners toward sustainability goals.

Mobius Foundation aims to change the sustainability dynamics

In 2015, Burman paved the way for the start of Mobius Foundation, focused on sustainability. Named after 18th-century German mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius, the famous Mobius strip has an important philosophical significance. The extraordinary shape symbolises balance and union.

Similar is the essence of Mobius Foundation which wishes to enhance the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” principle to a widespread basis in India, helping generations to come.

Founder Pradip Burman wishes to achieve notable development in education, population stabilisation and renewable energy projects.

A dream school in the making

At Coorg, Pradip Burman’s Mobius Foundation is constructing the World Environment School, Coorg (WESc) where the curriculum will surpass the boundaries of books and classrooms, with a special focus on hands-on learning in close collaboration with the environment. Amidst the pristine natural beauty of Coorg, the school will nurture young minds to grow up into future green leaders. As of now, the school will be open to teenagers, welcoming students from standards 6 to 12.

Needless to say, World Environment School will be the first-of-its-kind not only in India but also in entire South Asia. The school is expected to start from March 2020.

The school promises to nurture the responsible behaviour of citizens of our future.

The Sustainability Conference of 2019

In 2019, the Mobius Foundation has planned an international conference, on the lines of the celebrated earth summits over the past decade. The 2019 International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE 2019) aims to bring together environmental activists, practitioners of sustainable development as well as climate change experts to help develop a sustainability-focused curriculum.

It is surmised that the conference will give a platform to innovative concepts of Sustainability Education including an essential change in the existing education system ensuring a wholesome personal development for a student.

The Sustainability crusader

The Mobius founder strongly believes that it is high time to sprout sustainability awareness among a society drowning in consumerism and unknowingly doing irreparable harm to the planet, every second. The best way to achieve this goal is through education which is available to all. At present, the education system is predominantly career-oriented, making the learners a victim of materialism, and thus, their dreams are also outlined in those colours.

Living beyond the limits

When asked about his wish to attain the age of hundred, he strongly asserts that more than becoming a centurion, he wishes his life and work continue to better the society even in his absence. “I have lived my life. I wish that whatever I start before I go, will continue – for the betterment of my country,” says Mr Pradip Burman.

He is also a trustee of the Climate Reality Project – India (affiliated to Mr. Al Gore of the Climate Reality Project Foundation, USA). Climate Reality Project, India, has been actively engaged igniting the spark and spreading the message of climate change amongst educators, policy makers and civil society. The India branch looks after more than 500 trained Climate Leaders, and more than 900 volunteers spread all over the country.

In his journey, Pradip Burman has been a beacon of hope for millions, motivating many to join the movement for sustainability. We wish he continues his tireless efforts for promoting sustainability awareness and inspire generations to come.